Istria · Croatia · Reef
Porer
A terraced plateau reef that few boats visit
Area photo: Tanya Dedyukhina · CC BY 3.0
A reef off the Porer lighthouse islet, at the southern end of the Istrian coast, that few boats bother with. It begins 8 metres below the surface and steps down past 25 in terraced gradations, more an underwater plateau than a wall, and it is thickly vegetated the whole way. Only a handful of dive centres run out to it.
Also known as Porer Island, Porer Reef.
Where it is and how deep
44.7580° N, 13.8908° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The reef top is 8 metres below the surface, which keeps the descent short and the orientation simple: you land on the plateau and the terraces do the rest. From there it steps down in gradations rather than dropping away, so you can settle on a level and hold it, working out along a shelf and coming back over the top of the reef for the shallow end of the dive.
The rock is richly vegetated all over, and that is what the few centres who come out here rate it for. The ground carries on past 25 metres, so there is more depth available than the dive needs, and the practical plan is to spend the time on the terraces between 8 and 25 rather than going looking for the bottom of it.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Istria: The main season runs 1 May to 31 October; the sea passes 20°C from mid-June to September, and a few sites are diveable only outside the high season.
Sources
- Porer Island — Scubago
- Porer Reef — Scubago
- Svjetionik Porer (lighthouse) — OpenStreetMap
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Reef
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